1 Carolina Vista Drive,
Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina NC 28374
Office
+1 (855) 235 8507Pro shop
+1 (910) 235 8141Fax
+1 (910) 255 3360Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Eric Alpenfels (Head Academy Instructor)Academy
Pinehurst Golf AcademyThe Course:
18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.
Surroundings:
Woodland and residential.
Designer:
Original design by Ellis Maples (1961); subsequent modifications by Robert Trent Jones Sr (1974).
Fanning out from Pinehurst Resort's impressive clubhouse, are five of the Resort's ten 18-hole golf courses: No.1 course (par-70, 6089 yds from back tees); No.2 course (U.S. Open venue, par-72, 7588 yds); No.3 course (par-70, 5722 yds); No.4 course (par-72, 7117 yds); No.5 course (par-72, 6848 yds). Also adjacent to the clubhouse is the 9-hole Cradle course (par-27, 789 yds, designed by Gil Hanse) and 18-hole Thistle Dhu putting course.
Located within two miles of this central clubhouse, and separate from each other, are four more Pinehurst Resort courses: No.6 course (par-72, 7053 yds); No.7 course (par-72, 7216 yds); No.8 course (Centennial, par-72, 7092 yds) and No.9 course (formerly National GC, par-72, 7118 yds).
5 miles to the south lies the Resort's newest 18-hole course, the Tom Doak designed No.10 (formerly The Pit Golf Links).
35.178864
-79.473665
1 mile W of Pinehurst Traffic Circle
From the Pinehurst traffic circle (intersection of the US-15-501, 211 and 2) follow the 2-West direction Pinehurst. After 1.3 miles turn left into Carolina Vista Drive. After 300 yards parking is on your right (bag drop straight ahead).
Pinehurst No.5
Pinehurst No.5 Golf Course: Ellis Maples, a protégé of the great Donald Ross, designed Pinehurst's No.5 course. Although one of the less celebrated of the resort's nine courses, it is in fact one of the most played. For the most part the layout is imbued with classic sandhills characteristics, where the gently undulating holes sit on a sandy base, attractively lined by mature pines.
The No.5 course shares a close relationship with its sibling, Pinehurst No.3. Both occupy the softly undulating terrain on the west side of Hwy 5 (Beulagh Hill Road). Their opening holes set off side-by-side from Pinehurst's large and impressive clubhouse, while the par-4 18th of No.5 returns alongside the par-4 2nd of No.3. A few of the original holes from No.3 were in fact absorbed by No.5, requiring Maples to design one or two replacement holes on his mentor's No.3 layout.
With generally good-width fairways, "flatter" bunkering and not overly undulating greens, the layout arguably has a less intimidating demeanour than some of its Pinehurst stablemates. There's not too much water to worry about, although it's in play on the par-3 13th and 15th holes; ponds must be crossed to reach the safety of the respective greens.
Water also makes a somewhat unexpected appearance as you approach the 11th green, where a large attractive lake opens up before you. The par-4 12th takes you back up the hill and away from the lake, just as quickly as the 11th brought you down to it.
Pinehurst's No.5 course is certainly more forgiving than some of its Sandhills neighbours. For mid or high handicappers, and social or family golf, its just the ticket. And if you feel you need a change of scene from all those pine-tree lined fairways that so characterise Pinehurst courses, the middle section on No.5's front-nine exudes a pleasantly open feel.
Stay&Play at Pinehurst Resort: three historic Pinehurst Resort hotels (Carolina Hotel, Holly Inn and Manor Inn) are located o.5 mi from the golf clubhouse, from which courses No.1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 radiate out (see Where2Stay section below).
Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.
Must book in advance. Non-resort guests can only book 1-day ahead.
Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted. Caddies available.
Excellent
The No.5 course was designed by Ellis Maples, a protégé of Donald Ross, the legendary architect whose name will forever be linked to Pinehurst. Not only did Ross expose Maples to the profession of golf architecture, he was also a guiding light in young Maples' personal development.
A combination of playability, access and economics makes the No.5 course the most played of all the nine Pinehurst resort courses. It averages 55,000 rounds a year. When No.5 was built in 1961, it absorbed a few of the southernmost holes from the No.3 course. For example, the par-3 15th on No.5, known as the Cathedral Hole because of the tall pines framing the green, started life as the 6th on the No.3 course.
Carolina Vista Drive, Village of Pinehurst, NC 28374
+1 (910) 295 6811
Visit websiteThe Carolina opened in 1901 and is a world-class hotel. Dubbed the Queen of the South, it has 210 rooms and 12 suites, and is located just a few hundred yards from the historic Village of Pinehurst, and five of the nine Pinehurst Resort championship golf courses (which share the same stunning clubhouse) just across Cherokee Road.
Pinehurst Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (all located at Pinehurst Resort clubhouse, o.4 mi from hotel).
Pinehurst Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10; Pine Needles; Mid Pines; Talamore; Mid South; Longleaf; Pinewild (Magnolia and Holly courses); The Carolina; Southern Pines.
Whispering Pines (East and West courses); Little River; Tobacco Road (25 miles).
Village of Pinehurst, NC 28374
+1 (910) 295 6811
Visit websiteThe Manor opened in 1923 and offers casual accommodation with its 45 guest rooms and popular Pinehurst sports bar - Hackers at Pinehurst.
No
Pinehurst Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10; Pine Needles; Mid Pines; Talamore; Mid South; Longleaf; Pinewild (Magnolia and Holly courses); The Carolina; Southern Pines.
Whispering Pines (East and West courses); Little River; Tobacco Road (25 miles).
The Sentry: known for many years as the Tournament of Champions, the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opener gets underway on Kapalua’s Plantation course (Jan 2-5). Chris Kirk defends.
Tournament of Champions: the LPGA Tour’s 2025 season is launched at Lake Nona with the their Tournament of Champions (Jan 30-Feb 2). The 2024 edition gave Lydia Ko her 20th LPGA Tour title.
Attahya Thitikul: also known as “Jeeno”, the Thai golfer won the LPGA Tour’s 2024 CME Group Tour Championship … and an eye-watering $4 million, the richest first-prize in women’s golf.
Rory McIlroy: scooped the 2024 European (DP World) Tour season-long Order of Merit title, joining Seve Ballesteros as a six-time winner of this prestigious award.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.
Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.
Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.
Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available
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